Political Notebook: Is 'No Country for Old Men' a movie about McCain and Obama?

Friday

Feb 22, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 22, 2008 at 10:17 PM

The List takes a look at the Oscars and politicians, plus the front-runners' stances on education.

The List
In a salute to the Oscars, we asked ourselves which movie nominated in some capacity best describes the presidential candidates. Here are our thoughts:
“No Country for Old Men”: Barack Obama
If it comes down to Obama and McCain, this will be Obama’s campaign theme.
“There Will be Blood”: John McCain
What he’ll say after he hears about Obama’s “old men” crack.
"I'm Not There": Ron Paul
This far into the campaign, many people still don’t know who Paul is.
“Atonement”: Hillary Clinton
She’s trying to atone for Bill’s foibles, of course.
“American Beauty”: Mike Huckabee
Yeah, this movie is almost 10 years old, but we can’t get over how much Huck looks and sounds like Kevin Spacey.
On the Issues: Education
Political Notebook’s weekly look at where the presidential front-runners stand on key issues.
Democrats
Hillary Clinton: Clinton opposes vouchers for private schools, instead favoring increased funding for public schools. She says voucher programs exacerbate divisions within communities and could result in schools that are based on radical religious ideologies. Would end No Child Left Behind. Promote early childhood education, including nurse home visitation programs for new parents, quality child care and Head Start and pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Improve K-12 system by meeting funding promises of IDEA. Recruit outstanding teachers and principals, especially in urban and rural areas. Cut minority dropout rate in half. Expand early intervention mentoring programs. Identify at-risk youth early and provide $1 billion in intensive interventions. Create a $3,500 college tax credit and increase the maximum Pell Grant.
Barack Obama: In a debate during his 2004 senate campaign, Obama said he opposed government vouchers and tax credits to attend private schools because they would undermine efforts to improve the public school system. Would reform No Child Left Behind, ensuring access to high-quality early childhood education programs and child care opportunities, recruit well-qualified and reward expert, accomplished teachers. Make science and math education a national priority. Reduce the high school dropout rate and empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child's education at home and at school.
Republicans
Mike Huckabee: While Huckabee says that he does not believe in evolution, he has no problem with schools teaching evolution as a theory. "We shouldn't indoctrinate kids in school," he has said, adding, "I wouldn't want them teaching creationism as if it's the only thing that they should teach.'' Huckabee has said that if a family prays together outside of school, it doesn't need to worry about whether children are allowed to pray in school. Will provide children with "Weapons of Mass Instruction": art and music. States on Web site: "Art and music are as important as math and science." Supports No Child Left Behind but writes on Web site: "While there is value in the 'No Child Left Behind' law's effort to set high national standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks." Supporter of the rights of parents to home-school their children, creating more charter schools and public school choice.
John McCain: McCain supports vouchers that would allow students to attend public or private school, including religious schools. He says he believes that only God could have created the earth, but he does not believe it was created in seven days. In February 2007, McCain spoke at an event sponsored by the Discovery Institute, a think tank known for promoting the concept of "intelligent design." He says Darwin's theory of evolution is "valid" but students should be "exposed to every point of view." Voted for No Child Left Behind. Stated during GOP primary debates: "We need more charter schools. We need vouchers where it's approved by the local, state school boards. We need to have, clearly, home schooling if people want that. … We need to reward good teachers and find bad teachers another line of work."
Sources: PewForum.org, CNN.com
Pol Polls
According to RealClearPolitics.com, which averages national poll results, in the most recent polls, Barack Obama and John McCain still are leading their respective parties in favorability. Here are the results:
Democrats
Barack Obama: 44.9 percent
Hillary Clinton: 43 percent
Republicans
John McCain: 51.9 percent
Mike Huckabee: 28.9 percent
Ron Paul: 7.1 percent
Quote of Note
"We publish stories when they are ready. 'Ready' means the facts have been nailed down to our satisfaction, the subjects have all been given a full and fair chance to respond and the reporting has been written up with all the proper context and caveats. This story was no exception. It was a long time in the works."
New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, responding to Sen. John McCain’s claims that a Times story about McCain’s relationship to a lobbyist was untrue.
Better Know a Politician: George Washington
George Washington (Feb. 22, 1732–Dec. 14, 1799) became the first U.S. president after leading the Continental Army to victory over the Kingdom of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Washington was chosen to be the commander in chief of the American revolutionary forces in 1775. The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, but he was defeated when he lost New York City later that year. He revived the patriot cause, however, by crossing the Delaware River in New Jersey and defeating the surprised enemy units. As a result of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies — Saratoga and Yorktown. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states and French allies, Washington held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure.
Alarmed in the late 1780s at the many weaknesses of the new nation under the Articles of Confederation, he presided over the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Washington became president in 1789 and established many of the customs and usages of the new government's executive department. He sought to create a great nation capable of surviving in a world torn asunder by war between Britain and France. His Proclamation of Neutrality of 1793 provided a basis for avoiding any involvement in foreign conflicts. He supported plans to build a strong central government by funding the national debt, implementing an effective tax system, and creating a national bank. Washington avoided the temptation of war and began a decade of peace with Britain via the Jay Treaty in 1795; he used his prestige to get it ratified over intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. Although never officially joining the Federalist Party, he supported its programs and was its inspirational leader. Washington's farewell address was a primer on republican virtue and a stern warning against involvement in foreign wars. –- Wikipedia.org
Political Pun-dits
"Former President George H.W. Bush will endorse Sen. John McCain for president. They have been close friends since the Civil War, and the former president says that John McCain is the only candidate who has the strength, the leadership and the vision to dig America out of this giant hole his son has put us in." -- Jimmy Kimmel
This Week in Political History
Feb. 24, 1868 - Andrew Johnson becomes the first president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
Feb. 25, 1919 - Oregon places a 1-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
Feb. 26, 1984 – U.S. troops withdraw from Beirut. President Ronald Reagan had sent the troops as a peacekeeping force in August 1982.
Feb. 27, 1951 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting presidents to two terms, is ratified.
Feb. 28, 1993 - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas, with a warrant to arrest the group's leader, David Koresh. Four BATF agents and five Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
Feb. 29, 1956 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that he is running for a second term.
March 1, 1845 - President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the U.S. to annex the Republic of Texas.
GateHouse News Service